Director's Report to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse - May, 2007

Grantee Honors

Dr. Linda M. Collins, Director of the NIDA funded Penn State Methodology Center, has been named a member of the Fulbright Senior Specialists Roster. This is a roster of scientists representing a wide variety of areas of expertise, who may be called upon to visit a foreign country for 2-6 weeks to collaborate with scientists there on targeted projects. More about the program may be found at http://www.cies.org/specialists/.

Dr. Douglas Owens (Stanford University and the U.S. Veterans Administration) was awarded the Veterans Administration's most prestigious national award for research, "The Under Secretary's Award for Health Services Research" (February 22, 2007, Washington, D.C. Dr. Owens received a personal special cash award of $5,000, and up to $50,000 annually for up to three years in VA research funds to augment his peer-reviewed research funding. Dr. Owens was particularly recognized for his advanced AIDS modeling research on expanded HIV screening which has been adopted by the CDC and significantly altered and bettered U.S. public health policy and practice.

Dr. Nancy Petry, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, CT has won the 2007 Joseph Cochin Young Investigator Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD). This award, in memory of the former Chairman and Executive Secretary of CPDD, recognizes research contributions in the field of drug abuse by an investigator who has not attained his/her 40th birthday by July 1 in the year of the award. Dr. Petry was recognized for her significant contributions to the field of behavioral drug abuse treatment. Dr. Petry's research has led to the development of a contingency management approach--prize-based contingency management, sometimes known as "The Fishbowl"--that is both a potent intervention for improving treatment engagement and outcomes, and is deliverable in community settings (i.e., is "community-friendly"). Dr. Petry's work also has clarified the association between problem gambling and drug abuse, and has developed treatments for this population. Dr. Petry has been funded as principal investigator on multiple research project grants from NIDA and NIMH, has had over 130 peer reviewed manuscripts accepted for publication, and has served as a reviewer on various NIH study sections. She is a valuable member of the scientific community, and well-deserving of this honor.

Dr. Judith Prochaska at the University of California San Francisco was awarded the Jarvik-Russell Young Investigator Award at the 2007 Conference of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.

The Connecticut Renaissance (CT Renaissance), a CTP in the New England Node, was selected for an effectiveness award. The Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness (JMATE) presents awards in 5 categories. CT Renaissance will receive an award - "In recognition of constant commitment and movement towards evidence-based practice in adolescent substance abuse treatment." This award was selected from nominations made nationwide. Presentation of the award was in Washington DC during the JMATE April 2007 meeting.